3 hours ago
Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel like crying all day long?
Usually it's about stupid little things or irrational worries. But it doesn't matter that they're stupid and little, because they seem like they are such a big deal. It doesn't matter that your fears are irrational, because all you can see is the worse thing that could happen.
Then when any little thing goes wrong it just sets you off, and you just go throw yourself on the bed and cry your eyes out?
Sometimes a girl just needs a good cry. After you have a good cry everything seems better.
On the other hand, I'm not sure a good cry really accomplishes anything. It's ridiculous to let yourself get so worked up over little things, when you could turn everything over to the Lord, and He would handle it just fine.
Do we not believe that He can handle it just fine? For me, I don't think that's the case - I know He can handle all my problems, I just worry that He won't choose to handle them in the way I want Him to handle them.
For me, it's more about wanting my own way. Do I not believe that the Lord knows what I need and will work it out in a way that will be for my own good? No, I know that as well. I know it with my rational head, but my irrational heart is sometimes full of disbelief and "what ifs".
What a girl really needs more than a good cry is to hand her problems over to her Jesus, and trust Him to work out the details.
I love this quote by J. I. Packer in his book Knowing God:
"Such trust is vital; it is in truth the mainspring of the life of faith, which without it becomes a life of at least partial unbelief."
The Bible is very clear that the man who trusts in the Lord is blessed (Psalm 40:4, 84:12). Does this mean blessed with the answers to all our problems? I don't think so - I think it means that man will be blessed with a peace and joy that surpasses understanding.
And that's worth more than the answers to all our problems, because through the process we grow. One would never learn the joy of trusting God if all the answers to his problems were given to him immediately.
Why is it that with each new problem I must re-learn to trust the Lord? It shouldn't be so hard. But I suspect that it will get easier with each subsequent trial. At least I hope so.
But maybe trusting isn't something you achieve permanently, maybe it's more of a continual process - and you grow more and more through each different situation by applying the same lesson that you've learned a hundred times before.
I think we must consciously choose to believe Him and choose to trust Him for all that we need before any real trustful feelings even appear. It's a choice to believe his Word, and believe that all things work out for the good of those the love Him (Romans 8:28).
Is He worthy of my trust? Yes. He's shown me that many times before, and He's always taken care of me. Maybe not in the exact way I wanted, but He's never let me down. I have no reason to believe He'll start now. He'll give me courage and strength to face each new situation in life with my heart resting in Him.
Am I most happy when He gives me an answer? No. I'm most happy when I've reached the place where I will trust Him regardless of what happens.
He knows my needs (Matthew 6:32). He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7).
I am His beloved child.
He proved that to me in a very practical way last night.
The Bible says that He grants sleep to those He loves (Psalm 127:2).
After my good cry last night I've had the best sleep that I've had all week.
Usually it's about stupid little things or irrational worries. But it doesn't matter that they're stupid and little, because they seem like they are such a big deal. It doesn't matter that your fears are irrational, because all you can see is the worse thing that could happen.
Then when any little thing goes wrong it just sets you off, and you just go throw yourself on the bed and cry your eyes out?
Sometimes a girl just needs a good cry. After you have a good cry everything seems better.
On the other hand, I'm not sure a good cry really accomplishes anything. It's ridiculous to let yourself get so worked up over little things, when you could turn everything over to the Lord, and He would handle it just fine.
Do we not believe that He can handle it just fine? For me, I don't think that's the case - I know He can handle all my problems, I just worry that He won't choose to handle them in the way I want Him to handle them.
For me, it's more about wanting my own way. Do I not believe that the Lord knows what I need and will work it out in a way that will be for my own good? No, I know that as well. I know it with my rational head, but my irrational heart is sometimes full of disbelief and "what ifs".
What a girl really needs more than a good cry is to hand her problems over to her Jesus, and trust Him to work out the details.
I love this quote by J. I. Packer in his book Knowing God:
"Such trust is vital; it is in truth the mainspring of the life of faith, which without it becomes a life of at least partial unbelief."
The Bible is very clear that the man who trusts in the Lord is blessed (Psalm 40:4, 84:12). Does this mean blessed with the answers to all our problems? I don't think so - I think it means that man will be blessed with a peace and joy that surpasses understanding.
And that's worth more than the answers to all our problems, because through the process we grow. One would never learn the joy of trusting God if all the answers to his problems were given to him immediately.
Why is it that with each new problem I must re-learn to trust the Lord? It shouldn't be so hard. But I suspect that it will get easier with each subsequent trial. At least I hope so.
But maybe trusting isn't something you achieve permanently, maybe it's more of a continual process - and you grow more and more through each different situation by applying the same lesson that you've learned a hundred times before.
I think we must consciously choose to believe Him and choose to trust Him for all that we need before any real trustful feelings even appear. It's a choice to believe his Word, and believe that all things work out for the good of those the love Him (Romans 8:28).
Is He worthy of my trust? Yes. He's shown me that many times before, and He's always taken care of me. Maybe not in the exact way I wanted, but He's never let me down. I have no reason to believe He'll start now. He'll give me courage and strength to face each new situation in life with my heart resting in Him.
Am I most happy when He gives me an answer? No. I'm most happy when I've reached the place where I will trust Him regardless of what happens.
He knows my needs (Matthew 6:32). He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7).
I am His beloved child.
He proved that to me in a very practical way last night.
The Bible says that He grants sleep to those He loves (Psalm 127:2).
After my good cry last night I've had the best sleep that I've had all week.
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."
"Wait, you say, wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a "yes", a go-ahead sign,
Or even a "no" to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry,
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So I'm waiting . . . for what?"
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want, But you wouldn't know Me.
"You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
"You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save . . . for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My Heart.
"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.
"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that 'My Grace is sufficient for thee.'
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!
"So be silent, My Child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
my most precious answer of all is still, 'Wait.'"
-Author Unknown
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."
"Wait, you say, wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a "yes", a go-ahead sign,
Or even a "no" to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry,
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So I'm waiting . . . for what?"
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want, But you wouldn't know Me.
"You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
"You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save . . . for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My Heart.
"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.
"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that 'My Grace is sufficient for thee.'
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!
"So be silent, My Child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
my most precious answer of all is still, 'Wait.'"
-Author Unknown
Recently I started reading a book called Start Your Family: Inspiration For Having Babies by Steve and Candice Watters. It's basically a book that addresses the blessings of parenthood and our culture's increasingly negative attitude toward becoming a parent.
Chapter Five contained some startling statistics. I wouldn't consider myself ignorant of infertility at all - after all, I've been dealing with ovulatory infertility for the past ten months. But some of these stats were even surprising for me.
-For women, fertility begins to decline at age 27, the decline quickens after age 35, and by the time a woman is 40 her ability to get pregnant plummets. See Resource 2.
-At age 40, half of a women's eggs are chromosomally abnormal. By age 42, 90% of her eggs are chromosomally abnormal. See Resource 3.
-For men, fertility begins to decline after the age of 35. See Resource 2.
-Only about a third of couples who seek fertility treatment actually leave with a baby, and "that number can fluctuate dramatically depending on the reason a couple can't conceive naturally and the woman's age." See Resource 4.
-In-vitro fertilization treatments (the most technologically advanced method of conceiving, if all else fails) cost around $12,400, and women may need several rounds of IVF to concieve, if they conceive at all. "IVF simply may never work for some older women." See Resource 4.
Derek and I decided when we first got married that we'd like to wait two or three years to have children, just to give us time to get some debt paid off and get used to being married before adding a baby into the mix.
I think most couples today look at a variety of factors when considering when to have children. Those factors may include when they'll be in a good financial situation, when they'll be emotionally ready, where they want to be in their careers before they have children, and it sometimes includes a list of things that they would like to do or explore before having a baby.
But how many of us really consider fertility in our decision of when to have children?
No one really likes to talk about this for some reason, and those who do may be considered pessimistic. But the chances of conceiving decrease the older you get. You won't be infinitely fertile, and the hard fact is that you won't be able to have a baby whenever you want in life.
Why is it that we micro-analyze every other factor of when to have children, but we somehow overlook the most important and practical aspect of that decision - the question of "Will I still be fertile at the time when we want to have our first baby?"
I must admit that I am guilty of this myself. Before we were married, when Derek and I discussed our timeline of having children, the concept of how our fertility would decrease over time didn't even enter the equation. I can't believe I never thought of that before, as I think of it now.
Twenty-seven. Fertility starts to decrease for us women at the age of twenty-seven. I don't know where the rest of you young married ladies are, but that only gives me a few more years before it becomes even harder to have a baby. As if I weren't having enough trouble now.
Sure, there are alot of celebrities who have babies after age forty. But they are the exception, and we don't know how much time and money went into making that possible. Sure, there are many women who get pregnant without any help after 35, but the chances of that happening are far less than if they had started earlier (about 30% as opposed to 50%, Resource 2). And for many couples it just never happens, because they waited too long.
As for me, a woman in my early twenties who is already having struggles with her fertility, I urge you young married ladies out there who are in the midst of deciding when to have children to seriously consider your own fertility as an aspect of that decision. You may be one of those women who can conceive easily at a later age. But then again, you may not be. It's something every couple should have in their minds when making the decision of timing, and the goal of this post is just to get you all thinking about it.
I want each of you to experience every joy that life has to offer, and every blessing the Lord has to give you, but especially the gift of children. And I would hate to see anyone miss out on that blessing because no one brought the fertility factor to their attention when they were still young enough to do something about it.
I'd like to end this post with a quote from Start Your Family. I found this quote to be very encouraging, especially for those of us already struggling with fertility problems. We should be wise concerning our fertility and the timing of babies - but God is still (and always will be) in control, in spite of the struggles we face, even when they result from our own mistakes.
"As I wrote this chapter I thought my fertility window was closing - or more accurately, slamming shut - but then something happened.
Psalm 103 praises the God, "who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle." "He Himself knows our frame," the psalmist instructs, "He is mindful that we are but dust . . . But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him." (5, 14, 17, NASB). We serve a wonder-working God. That's what my doctors - all three of them - concluded when, after three sets of blood tests that confirmed my childbearing years were over, I got pregnant. They all said the same thing: "It's a miracle."
And so as my belly swells, even as I finish the edits on this chapter, I'm reminded that it's our job to be faithful to learn the facts about our bodies and make the most of our fertility. But I also know that God is sovereign over all. It's up to us to do what we can. Then we can trust Him for the rest. We are not without hope."
-Candice Watters, Start Your Family, page 89. Emphasis mine.
Resources:
1. Watters, Steve and Candice; Starting Your Family: Inspiration For Having Babies. Moody Publishers, 2009. Buy the book here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802458300?ie=UTF8&tag=helgetmar-20&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=0802458300.
2. de Vries, Lloyd; "Fertility: Less Time Than You Think", CBSNews.com, April 30, 2002. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/04/30/health/main507580.shtml .
3. Gibbs, Nancy; "Making Time For A Baby". Time.com, April 15, 2002. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002217-2,00.html.
4. Stenson, Jacqueline; "Have Kids? Sure . . .Someday". MSNBC.com, June 6, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17937795/ns/health-pregnancy//.
5. Image from the American Society For Reproductive Medicine Ad Campaign. Image has been cropped for easier viewing on this page. See original ad here: http://www.protectyourfertility.org/pdfs/4up.pdf.
I'm surrounded by pregnant women.
I don't know if there were always this many pregnant women around and I just never noticed before, or if there are really more pregnant women around me now than in the past.
I personally know eleven women who either are or have been pregnant in the last few months. Plus the two or three women I seem to see every time I go grocery shopping. Plus many pregnant patients that have come into the office within the past few months as well. Not to mention many different celebrities that I keep hearing about.
I'm telling you, I'm surrounded. This does absolutely nothing for the baby fever that I'm already plagued with, except to make it much worse.
It doesn't really seem very fair to have so many pregnant women put in my path right around the time that I'm starting to naturally think more about babies anyway, even though I can't even have a baby right now. It's like torture, considering the fertility issues I'm already dealing with. Sometimes it's downright depressing.
Last week, after a particularly depressing morning, I was wondering if I would ever even be able to have a baby in the future, and as I told the Lord how I was feeling a peace just washed over my heart. No other words or pep talks have given me that same sense of assurance, and I know it was a gift from God - that peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).
Since then I've been thinking about the multitude of pregnancies and babies that have been bombarding me as of late, and I realized that the Lord wouldn't put all that in my life at this precise time for no reason. When the same thing keeps hitting me over and over again it's most likely because the Lord is trying to teach me something.
I think I figured it out. The other day as I was mulling this over, this verse came to mind:
"For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
Philippians 4:11b-12
Paul had been through many different kinds of persecution and trials, worse than anything most of us will experience, but still he was able to say that he had learned the secret to being content, no matter what situation he was in. I just realized as I looked up this verse today that he never really said what the secret was. Maybe it's one of those things that you can't really teach per say, but each person just learns it or doesn't learn it on their own.
However, I think contentment is one of those things that the Lord very much wants us to learn. He wants us to learn to be content and trust in Him, no matter what is going on in our life. Sometimes I think our trials or heartaches, or even something silly like being surrounded by babies at a time when you can't have one, are sent to us by God so that we can learn to trust Him and be content whatever the circumstances.
When that verse came to mind the other day, I knew the purpose in this was that very thing. I am not able to have a baby the way things are now, and there's no saying when that will change. I want to have a baby someday, and there are easily a dozen women around me right now that have the very thing I want and know I can't have yet. But I think I've learned to be content with my life, and where the Lord has me right now, in spite of that.
Rarely does learning some spiritual virtue come easily for me. It usually takes months or years of trial and error, of succeeding and failing, before I can make a good thing an actual habit so that it is just natural to react or think in the correct way. But somehow learning to be content in this situation came suddenly, without any practice or striving for it.
Maybe that's just the nature of learning to be content with your situations. It's not something that sneaks up on you through small, everyday successes, and then one day you wake up to find that you've largely obtained that quality, as it seems to work with patience or kindness. Contentment seems to be obtained through great inward struggles that build until you reach a point where suddenly it strikes you that God always has a plan and a purpose. Once you realize that, and actually believe it and trust God that it's true, then contentment is just a natural reaction.
In order to be content, you must first accept that God knows what He's doing, and He works all things out for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), and then you must actively choose to trust Him - and once you've done that contentment is easy.
Sometimes I think it's easier to lean on the Lord and be content in the midst of the greater trials of life than it is to be content with small struggles or wishes that haven't come true. It seems easier to rely on His help for the big things, because you know He'll take care of you somehow, and you're already in a bad spot with no one to turn to but Him anyway.
But when you are hoping for just average, everyday things, like a baby or a better job, it's harder to trust Him, because the fact of the matter is He might not give you what you desire. He might say no. As Christians, we need to learn to accept that He might say no, but to also realize that even if we don't get what we're hoping for He still has a purpose that we may never understand, and He has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11). Then we are able to rest in contentment.
It's not easy to get to that place, because you have to learn to let go of what you want and instead accept whatever the Lord has for you! But once you're there, you wouldn't go back to clinging to your own way for anything, because His ways are always better.
For me, that means letting go of my anxiety about having a baby and accepting that whether I'm able to have biological children or not, the Lord has a great plan for me, and it's better than anything I have planned for myself.
I'm not saying that the next time I go through a tough time I won't have to remind myself of what it means to be content. I suspect that I'll have to re-learn to be content, to a certain extent, with every trial that befalls me. But I also suspect that it'll get easier and easier to learn with each subsequent struggle, and then maybe someday I'll be able to say with Paul that I've learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him."
Matthew 28:1-9
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God . . ."
John 1:12
He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him."
Matthew 28:1-9
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God . . ."
John 1:12
He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed.
Every year on Good Friday I like to read the accounts of Jesus's crucifixion in the gospels.
It makes me refocus my whole day, and if there is any time of year we should be focused on Jesus's sacrifice it is during this day.
One thing that stood out to me this year was how Jesus could have called legions of angels to rescue Him at any time. He said so Himself: "Or do you think I cannot now pray to my Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53)
I'm sure there must have been incredible temptation for Him to do just that. When they were smashing that crown of thorns down on His head and mocking Him. When they were beating him within one stroke of just killing Him right there. When they nailed Him to that cross. When He was hanging on that cross, struggling to breath for hours.
I think from a human standpoint it must have been especially hard not to call angels to His aid when He was hanging on the cross and the people who passed by were saying "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." (Matthew 27:40) And the chief priests and scribes stood by saying "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him." (Matthew 27:42)
The thing is, He could have come down off the cross. He could have put them all in their place right there, and how could they help but believe in Him then?
But if He had done that, if He had called those legions of angels, we all would be lost. He didn't come to conquer the nation and rule - He came for one purpose. He came to die. And without his death, His entire purpose on earth would have been meaningless.
And by the spilling of His blood, the Perfect Sacrifice of Himself, our sins were washed away. We are able to know God and we are assured of our eternity in Heaven, all because of what He did on the cross, and because of what happened three days later.
He rose from the dead! He came back to life! Death couldn't hold Him - He conquered death, and He now gives eternal life to anyone who will believe in Him. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart the God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
But none of this could have been possible if He had come down off the cross. How ironic that the chief priests said they would believe in Him if He came down from the cross, when if He had done that He couldn't have saved them. I wonder what was going through His mind when they said those words? I think it must have been just a deep compassion and probably a sadness too - they just didn't understand.
He had to die to give us life. Without His death and resurrection, there would be no hope at all. He could have called many angels to get Him out of it, but He chose to endure torture and ridicule and indescribable pain for our sakes.
Aren't you glad that He left the angels where they were that day?
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5
It makes me refocus my whole day, and if there is any time of year we should be focused on Jesus's sacrifice it is during this day.
One thing that stood out to me this year was how Jesus could have called legions of angels to rescue Him at any time. He said so Himself: "Or do you think I cannot now pray to my Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53)
I'm sure there must have been incredible temptation for Him to do just that. When they were smashing that crown of thorns down on His head and mocking Him. When they were beating him within one stroke of just killing Him right there. When they nailed Him to that cross. When He was hanging on that cross, struggling to breath for hours.
I think from a human standpoint it must have been especially hard not to call angels to His aid when He was hanging on the cross and the people who passed by were saying "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." (Matthew 27:40) And the chief priests and scribes stood by saying "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him." (Matthew 27:42)
The thing is, He could have come down off the cross. He could have put them all in their place right there, and how could they help but believe in Him then?
But if He had done that, if He had called those legions of angels, we all would be lost. He didn't come to conquer the nation and rule - He came for one purpose. He came to die. And without his death, His entire purpose on earth would have been meaningless.
And by the spilling of His blood, the Perfect Sacrifice of Himself, our sins were washed away. We are able to know God and we are assured of our eternity in Heaven, all because of what He did on the cross, and because of what happened three days later.
He rose from the dead! He came back to life! Death couldn't hold Him - He conquered death, and He now gives eternal life to anyone who will believe in Him. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart the God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
But none of this could have been possible if He had come down off the cross. How ironic that the chief priests said they would believe in Him if He came down from the cross, when if He had done that He couldn't have saved them. I wonder what was going through His mind when they said those words? I think it must have been just a deep compassion and probably a sadness too - they just didn't understand.
He had to die to give us life. Without His death and resurrection, there would be no hope at all. He could have called many angels to get Him out of it, but He chose to endure torture and ridicule and indescribable pain for our sakes.
Aren't you glad that He left the angels where they were that day?
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5
So I've been trying to determine if there is anything good to say about Spring. I started my musings yesterday with the post "Spring. Bleh." I feel like it must be a little ungrateful to despise one season so much when the Lord made each season for our enjoyment, so I'm determined to find a good thought in my head about Spring.
I guess it's kind of fun, because it's a time for things to be born. I have a friend who ranches, and the baby lambs are absolutely adorable. So I guess that's one thing.
I suppose Spring is a time of rebirth. Seeds that have been lying dormant since they fell off of dying plants last Autumn are starting to crack open and send out little shoots (even though here we don't actually see those shoots until May or June).
Birds are flying in again after being gone for so long. We did see a bluebird the other day. That was pretty exciting.
The most significant positive that I would give Spring is that it's the time that we celebrate the Resurrection of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus.
I wonder what it's like during the Spring in Israel. What is it like in the country where it all happened at this time of year?
I know the Lord purposefully planned to be crucified and resurrected during Passover, because He is our perfect Passover Lamb. He is the final sacrifice to cover our sins, for those of us that believe in Him. Since He did sacrifice His life for us, so that our sins would be paid for once and for all and it would never be necessary to sacrifice another lamb, it would seem appropriate for Him to give Himself to atone for our sins during Passover.
But I wonder - I think the Lord must have purposefully planned Passover to occur during the Spring. And if He purposefully planned Passover to occur during the Spring, He purposefully planned for His death and resurrection and to occur during the Spring.
I wonder - do you think He chose Spring because it is a time of rebirth?
But then He created Spring too. He created the whole idea of rebirth.
Maybe He created Spring to be the time when He would rise from the dead.
Maybe He decided that the seasons would happen the way they do - with things dying in the winter and being reborn in the spring - to be a reflection of His death and resurrection.
Even though Spring starts as such an ugly season, it ends with glorious new life. Just as the ugliness and seemingly hopeless situation of His death ended in the glorious event of His Resurrection from the dead.
Maybe I don't mind Spring quite as much as I thought I did. Because the Lord obviously chose this time of year for His supreme act of mercy and grace to save us to take place, so there must be something special about it.
The Lord created everything in this world for His Glory. Absolutely everything. And I think He must be happy when we look a little deeper at everything in His creation, even when certain things may seem ugly or unnecessary at first, to find His glory in the things He has made.
Because His glory and eternal attributes can be seen in all the things that are made. Even in the ugliness and subsequent beauty (yes, I suppose I admit it - there is beauty) of Spring.
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Romans 1:20
"The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."
Matthew 28:5-6A
Finally Enjoying Spring, The Season Of Our Lord's Resurrection,
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